City Camouflage: Ugly Public Buildings in Disguise

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City Camouflage: Ugly Public Buildings in Disguise

31 Jan

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

City Camouflage Buildings in Disguise 1

Electricity substations, bathrooms and other less-than-aesthetically pleasing public buildings can stand out as eyesores on the street, taking away from the beauty of their surroundings. Dutch designer Roeland Otten decided to disguise some of Amsterdam and Rotterdam’s worst offenders by making them blend into their environments, in both abstract and highly realistic ways.

City Camouflage Buildings in Disguise 2

‘City Camouflage’ employs mosaic tiles, paint and photographic prints affixed to the outside of these small buildings to make them less visually offensive. The 1970s structures were unmaintained and beginning to rust.

City Camouflage Buildings in Disguise 3

High-resolution photography printed on sheets of aluminum make some of the buildings seem almost invisible. Gazing down the street, one’s view is no longer interrupted; you can see exactly what is behind each of these camouflaged buildings.

City Camouflage Buildings in Disguise 4

Others are covered in tiles that create a more subtle pixelated effect. One electricity substation on the water was given a bold, graphic treatment with acrylic paint so that it blends in from some angles and looks merely artistic from others.